Boat propulsion device



Nov. 4, 1952 WOODS 2,616,385

BOAT PROPULSION DEVICE Filed Nov. 3, 1947 2 SHEETS-SHEET l //\/A/E-/\/TUF? ANTHONY A. WOODS Aid/M Nov. 4, 1952 A. A. WOODS BOAT PROPULSIONDEVICE 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Nov. 3, 1947 /E/\ 70 ANTHONY A. WOODS TTUFA/EWE f atenteci Nov. 4,

UNITED OFF ICE asissss BQAT PROPULSION DEVICE Anthony A. Woods an em awa h. Application November 3, 1947, Serial No. uses-s9 a ms- 1 Thisinvention relates to improvements in pro.- pulsion for small boats.

Objects-ofthe invention are to provide a n vel boat ,propulsion systemin which the propeller is protectedf-rom weeds, sticks and rocks in thewater, and from grounding on hallow bottoms, to provide a novel inboardmountin for ,a, SO-.' called outward motor, and, more particularly, ,toprovide a novel well for mo nting an outboard motor in the boat to ,drawin water through bOW tubes and discharge the water through ,a stern tubetopropel the boat. Still ,tu-rther objects of the invention are .toprovide a'nov el water-tight well within the ,boat extending above thewater level ior mounting an outward -:typeglint 01 with its anropellingscrew .in communication with ,bow and sternatubes, to provide a novelmountingarw rangement .;for the vjouthoard motor in said well,andatoprovide .a novel arrangement :for confining the streamof waterdelivered by the propeller to dischargeajet ofwater out thesterntube andprevent Echurning within ;,the well.

in-the application. of the present. invention, a Pair oibow $111168 arearranged foo vdraw in water from ;the bowendof the boat, so-that thewater thus rlrawnin maybeactedupon by a propeller and .zdischarged:forcibly throu h .a stern tube to driv :thchoat. Thebowtubeschmmunicatewith thew-ssternrtube in a water-tight well hayingsides extending.,above the water level and arranged to supp rtia. coverupon .which is :mounted the. outboard motor :used ,for -.driving theboat. The stream of water from the propeller is confined and=.directed-1through .the stern tube by a .short tilbei'section connectedbetween the bow and stem tubes :within the -.-wel1. This intermediatetube section ;is arranged :tolenclose the propeller and sllppqrtrtheweight of :the motor, and is made readily idetaohable, :both from :themotor and i he ibQW vand stern tubes so that .the motor may easily be-removed.,from the reboot .w-hen Jdesired. glnsthiswaytthe propellerisJprotected-from loa in and Submerged :objects in zthe water so thatthe boat may be driven safely :throug'hweeds er -over, submerged rocksor sand bars, orndragged upgon-a:dockor beach, without danger-ofdamagins theproneller.

Qther QbJ'ects-and advantages residezin the details ,of ;constructionand varrangement of parts described in thefollowingrspecificationiandshown on-gthe accompanyingi drawingsillustrating. a preferred-lembqdiment .of -,:the invention. Various changes in the-constructionwill occur to persons skilledinthe art, andall suchmodifications within:th inventi n.

water line.

:In the drawings:

Fi ure l is a .plan view of a boat embodying the present system ,ofpropulsion;

Figure ;2 a side elevation view of the boat;

Fi ure :3 is eastern view;

Figure 91 is a :cross sectional view of the boat takennear the bow;

Fi ure '5 isanenlarged view in side elevation showing the construction,of the well and the m. Ai Of the 'mQtQr therein;

jgure 56 is :a ;,cros s sectional view taken on the line 6.-. of ,.i ure:5; and

Figure 7 is atop plan viewof the cover :forthe well.

;I n1;the presentconstruction as showninFigunes l and 2, the b at 1.0 isprovided with a pair of inlet tubes lgl communicating with bow openings2-on -the'opposite sides of the boat below the {Ihe'inlet tubes Hconverge :intoa Wel 5 whe e they conn ct with aidisc ar t l4 leading:to, a stern opening ,I 5 below the water line 15. A motor 2;! having ascrew propeller 2-1 is 'mounted on the well 13 tO ,draw water in throughthe inletooenings H and discharge it forciloly thro 1 ig;h the discharge:tube 14 to drive the boat forward. Suitable screens may be provided thetubes ;l or openings I! to 'keepout solid material. The boat is steeredby :a pair o'f rudders; 2 mountedon.opposite sides of the stem or nineTheprincipalgfeatures of novelty inthe present or, A eement reside inthe construction .of the well andtubes and-the mounting of :thamotor,shown in Figures 5 and v6. The inlet tubes =H may converge to ,a pointof intersection before they reach the Well :13, they mayintersect-wherethey pass through the wall. of the .well, .or they may.- enter the wellindividually and be joined together -therewithin, :but in any case thetube or tub.e s are welded to the well as indicated at 2.4, orprovidedin someother satisfactorymannor with a water-tight joint to.prevent leakage of water into the boat. =It isappreciated thatdifferent (forms of joints may be employed and that difierent materialsmay .be used l-for insuring the well and tubes, but inlthe presentembodimer t the tubes andl l and :the-well l3 aremade-,oflsheetmetaland-the tube l4 is-similar ly connectedwith the afterside of the well-by a weld or someother form of water-tight joint. 'Ihewell ;3 in the present embodiment is cylindrical in shape, havin wallsextending up above the water level [6 and provided with a' bottomi'25which (may-rest on or be-attached tothe-bottom of the;boat. A

The top rim ofthewell is provided with a rolled 3 edge or bead 26 tosupport a reinforced, arched cover 21 having a lip 28 resting on thebead 26 and a flange 29 extending therewithin to make a close fit inorder to provide a fairly rigid mounting for the motor 29 which passesthrough the center of the cover 21 and is held thereby in a stationaryupright position. The motor 20 may take various forms and may bespecially designed for the present purpose, but in the illustratedembodiment a conventional motor of the so-called outboard type is shown,this type of motor having the usual mounting bracket 30 for mounting onthe stern of a rowboat or the like with the vertical drive housing 3|extending down into the water. In the present use of the motor theconventional mounting bracket 30 is not used, and may be removed if itis in the way of the cover 21. The cover 21 is provided with a pluralityof brackets which may comprise vertical sheet metal fins 32 havingbottom flanges 33 secured to the cover to hold the motor in a verticalposition with the housin 3| extending through a central opening 34 inthe cover, as shown in Figures and '1. To permit installation andremoval of the motor, the cover 21 is made in two halves with a standingseam 35 intersecting this opening. The seam 35 may comprise verticalflanges on the two cover sections adapted to be bolted together toencircle the motor housing 3|. Other mounting adaptations for the motormay be devised on the cover. A plurality of clamps 4| are provided tosecure the cover 21 to the sides of well |3.

The tube H! is preferably circular and is cut off on a bevel andprovided with an end flange 42 within the well l3, and the commonopening of the intersecting tubes I is preferably of the same shape andsize and provided with a similar end flange 43 within the well. A shortremovable tube section 45 is provided to surround the propeller 2| andinterconnect the tubes I and M to provide a smooth channel forstreamlined flow of the water approaching and leaving the propeller. Thesection 45 has an end flange 46 to be connected with the flange 42, andan end flange 41 for connection with the flange 43, to hold the sectioninplace between the inlet and outlet tubes. The section 45-is preferablymade of flexible sheet metal, open on its top side in a longitudinaljoint so that it may be sprung apart to receive the propeller 2| and thelower end of the vertical housing 3|. Top flanges 48 provide for closingthe top of the tubular section 45 after it has been placed around thepropeller, each flange 48 having a semicircular portion or half collar49 to surround and engage the housing 3|. The various flanges may besecured together by bolts 59 or other suitable means. If desired,gaskets may be provided in all of these flange joints to makewater-tight connections, and a suitable gasket may be provided-for thecollar 49, but this is not necessary because these parts are allconfined within the water-tight well |3. There is no objection topermitting the water to rise in the well |3 to its natural water level,because the primary purpose of the intermediate section 45 is merely toconfine the flowing water to a streamlined channel for efficientoperation. The installation and removal of the motor is facilitated ifno attempt is made to make the flange connections water-tight.

Outboard motor-s of the type shown usually have a vertical fin or guard55 extending be-' neath the propeller 2|, and in the presentconstruction it is preferred to utilize thisfin to support the weight ofthe motor rather than to have this weight hang on the cover 21, althoughthe motor may be supported in the latter manner, if desired. Thus, forthe purpose of supporting the motor, there is preferably provided a cupor socket 56 in the bottom of the tube section 45 to engage the end ofthe fin 55 in the manner shown. A saddle 51 is disposed under the tubesection 45, as shown in Figure 6, to support the weight on the socket56. The weight of the motor is thereby brought to bear onthe bottom 25of the well, where it is distributed over the bottom of the boat, sothat the principal function of the cover 21 and brackets 32 is merely tobrace the motor and hold it in an upright position. It is, of course,appreciated that the motor is not required to turn in the well, but ismounted in a fixed position, inasmuch as steering of the boat isaccomplished by the rudders 22.

With this mounting arrangement, the outboard motor may be considered andused'as a permanent installation in the boat, and in such case furtherrefinements may be made in the mounting of the motor, but theconstruction is also intended to be used with conventional outboardmotors which have not been modified or rebuilt for the present purposeand which are intended to be removed after each use of the boat. Otherchanges will suggest themselves, depending upon the manner of use in aparticular case, and it is, therefore, intended that the invention notbe limited to the precise construction illustrated in the drawings.

The manner of installing and removing the outboard type motor 29 will bebest understood by first describing the removal procedure-with referenceto Figure 5 which shows the motor installed. The cover clamps 4| arefirst unfastened and the bolts removed from cover flanges" tions'shouldbe disposed on the outside of head 26 to permit removal of the coversections without lifting the motor. After removal of the two sections ofcover 21, the motor may be again rested on its bottom fin 55 andsteadied by an assistant while the bolts are removed from flanges 48 andthe upper portions of the mating flanges 42, 46 and 43, 41. The upperparts of tube section 45 may then. be sprung apart to separate theflanges 48 sufficiently'to pass the propeller 2| when the motor islifted vertically" upward. If the motor is not to be used in anotherboat, the bolts may be left in flanges 48 andall the bolts removed fromend flanges 42, 46, 43 and 41. Then the tube section 45 may be removedbodily with the motor.

In installing the motor the foregoing operations are reversed, thecup orsocket member 56 serving to center the lower end of fin55 in its properposition when the fin is brought to bear thereon. After the bolts havebeen replaced in the flanges of tube section 45, themotor is raised aninch or so by sliding housing 3| through the collar parts 49 topermit'repla'cement of the twosections of cover 21. Then the flanges35"are fastened together and clamps 4| secured so that the motor can belowered into its operating position with fin 55 again resting in cup 56.

When the motor is thus lowered, the cup 56 automatically guides the fin55 to centered position without requiring visual observation of theseparts for proper manipulation. When the collar parts 49 are equippedwith gaskets to engage the vertical housing 3| snugly, the use ofoutside flanges at 29 instead of inside flanges permits the two sectionsof cover 21 to be replaced Without lifting the motor.

Having now described my invention and in what manner the same may beused, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a boat, a well having a bottom within the boat and a side wallaround the well extending above the level of the water line of saidboat, horizontal water inlet and discharge tubes sealed in said well, aremovable horizontal cylindrical tube section in said wellinterconnecting said inlet and discharge tubes, a cover on said well,outboard motor supporting means in said tube section, and additionaloutboard motor supporting means on said cover, said tube section havinga top opening to receive a vertical drive shaft of an outboard motorsupported on said means.

2. In a boat, a well having a bottom within the boat and a sidewallextending above the level of the water line of said boat, horizontalwater inlet and discharge tubes sealed in said well, a removablehorizontal flexible tube section for propulsion means in said Wellinterconnecting said inlet and discharge tubes, a propulsion motorsupport in the bottom of said tube section, a longitudinal jointextending along the top of said tube section, and removable securingmeans for said joint whereby said tube section may be opened at saidjoint for access to the interior of the tube section in installing andremoving said propulsion means.

3. In a boat, a well having a bottom within the boat and a side wallextending above the level of the Water line of said boat, horizontalwater inlet and discharge tubes sealed in said well, a horizontalcylindrical tube section for propulsion means in said wellinterconnecting said inlet and discharge tubes, a propulsion motorsupport in the bottom of said tube section, and detachable connectingmeans securing the ends of said tube section to said inlet and dischargetubes, said tube section being removable from the top of said well.

4. In a boat, a well having a bottom Within the boat and a side wallextending above the level of the water line of said boat, horizontalwater inlet and discharge tubes sealed in said well, a horizontalcylindrical tube section in said well interconnecting said inlet anddischarge tubes, detachable connecting means for securing the ends ofsaid tube section tosaid inlet and discharge tubes, a longitudinal jointin the top of said tube section, detachable connecting means for saidjoint, and an opening in the top of said tube section intersecting saidjoint for propulsion means, said tube section being flexible forinstalling and removing said propulsion means by removing certain ofsaid connecting means and spreading said longitudinal joint.

5. In a boat, a well having a bottom within the boat and a side wallextending above the level of the water line of said boat, horizontalwater inlet and discharge tubes sealed in said well, a horizontal tubesection in said well interconnecting said inlet and discharge tubes, amotor support in the bottom of said tube section, a cover on said wellhaving a separable joint extending across the well, detachable means forsecuring the two parts of said cover together at said joint, andadditional motor supporting means on said cover.

ANTHONY A. WOODS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 829,033 Ronstrom Aug. 21, 19061,786,997 Harvey Dec. 30, 1930 1,888,443 Alexander Nov. 22, 19322,270,690 Shannahan Jan. 20, 1942 2,379,834 Sharp July 3, 1945 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 414,497 France June 21, 1910 1,233 GreatBritain Jan. 28, 1885

